The present invention relates to a microphone assembly and the mounting of such an assembly to an appliance such as a personal computer.
A personal computer typically comprises a metal chassis to which the main operational components are mounted, and an outer housing which encompasses the chassis. The computer can include a microphone assembly for capturing external sound into the computer, e.g., for providing sound effects that can be played back at certain times, or to enable a user to utilize a speaker telephone connected to the computer, etc.
It is conventional to mount the microphone assembly to the inside surface of one of the housing panels, such as a front bezel which frames a monitor screen of the computer. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the inside surface of a bezel 1 can be provided with a cylindrical socket 2 that communicates with a sound-admitting through-hole 3 in the bezel. A microphone element 4 is mounted within a cylindrical rubber plug 5, the plug being secured to a circuit board 6 by adhesive. The microphone element 5 is electrically connected to the circuit board, whereby the plug, microphone element, and circuit board form a unitary microphone assembly. That assembly is mounted to the bezel by pushing the plug into the socket, and by attaching additional snap members (not shown) between the circuit board and the bezel.
The overall cost of manufacturing such a microphone assembly is increased by the need to provide a snap structure to augment the frictional securement of the plug within the socket, and the necessity of applying an adhesive for securing the plug to the circuit board. It would be desirable, therefore, to simplify the manufacture and installation of such a microphone assembly.